Scenario #8 - Tuesday May 15

[Sentry18]

Your buddy asks if you want to go up in his small private plane. He recently got his pilots license and is excited to keep racking up those flight hours. He or She takes you out well off the beaten path. In fact the area you are flying over is very remote and no where near civilization (based on the conditions and geography of where you live). Suddenly the airplane begins to have issues and you are definitely going down. Your friend does his /her best to land the aircraft but a crash is inevitable. He calls out mayday on the radio as the plane goes down. You survive the crash landing, sadly your friend does not. You are banged up and bruised, but intact with no broken bones or head trauma. There are very few survival items in the airplane, but there are a couple bottles of water, some small tools and a couple flares. You also find a bag of peanuts and a map. Plus of course you have the materials present in the aircraft itself. You are many miles away from people. You do not know if your friend filed a flight plan or told anyone where he was going. The radio equipment in the aircraft is non-functional. You do not know if anyone heard his mayday calls.


What did you bring with you on the flight?
Are you armed or unarmed?
What is your first move?
Do you stay with the airplane or head out?
What resources do you need immediately?
What do you do with your friend?
What next?

 

[The Lazy L]

What did you bring with you on the flight? Hat, coat and the clothes on my back. Car keys and wallet.

Are you armed or unarmed? Armed. Little pocket pistol.

What is your first move? Make a "SOS" on the ground that can be seen from the air.

Do you stay with the airplane of head out? Stay with the aircraft if temperatures permit. If forced to leave the crash sight, make arrows on the ground that indicate direction I went that can be seen from the air.

What resources do you need immediately? Water, Shelter and food.

What do you do with your friend? Bury him as deep as practical covered by rocks to keep predators from being attracted to the body and worse to me. Save his clothing and whatever is in his pockets.

What next? Prepare a signal fire. Start a small camp fire and enjoy the peace and quiet while it lasts.

 

[hiwall]

As soon as problems started I would have looked around in every direction, looking for any man-made objects on the ground, roads, buildings, radio towers, fire towers. Also I would have looked for creeks or rivers below us or any body of water.
What did you bring with you on the flight? Camera, binoculars, water bottle
Are you armed or unarmed? I always have my pocket pistol
What is your first move? very thoroughly search the plane. I always think outside the box and I would be looking for anything that might be useful
Do you stay with the airplane of head out? Depends on what I had seen from the air. Also if the area commonly had aircraft flying over
What resources do you need immediately? Water
What do you do with your friend? If I was not going to use the plane for shelter and it was mostly intact I would leave him inside.
What next? 1st I would wish I had my get-home-bag. Next I would either stay with the plane and gather firewood for a fair sized signal fire or if I was leaving I would carefully choose what I would be taking with and head out for help.

 

[Terri9630]

I'd have stayed on the ground, said congratulations and invited him to dinner.

 

[Caribou]

What did you bring with you on the flight?
Insulated coveralls, good boots, fur hat, warm gloves, a small survival pouch with fire starter, flavor packets from ramen, dental floss, signal flare, orange smoke, space blanket, picture wire.

Are you armed or unarmed?
Armed, 9MM and a spare mag.

What is your first move?
Look for the EPIRB in the tail of the plane. Make sure it is triggered and the antenna is intact. Take an inventory of the plane and the pilots pockets. Make a signal fire.

Do you stay with the airplane of head out?
Stay with the plane.

What resources do you need immediately?
More water.

What do you do with your friend?
Push him back against the seat back and secure him with his hands across his lap. Once rigor sets in getting him out on another plane will be easier if he is in a seated position.

What next?
Rig a shelter, that might be as simple as crawling back in the plane and using my space blanket. If I need his clothing I'd remove them before securing him in the seat. Maintain a smoky fire and lookout for other planes.

 

[Woody]

I have clothing appropriate for the weather, some smokes, lighter, pocket tool, pocket knife, wallet, keys.

I am armed with a pocketknife and my wits. One is sharper than the other.

First move is to take stock of what is available and make sure the plane is not going to go boom. If the plane is safe, pile whatever I can gather in one location, so I can see it all.

When lost, best move is to stay put. There should be at least a small clearing where the plane came down and parts of it visible.

Resources: Water. I have a few bottles so am good for at least today. Shelter, I have what is left of the plane, or I can make something out of the parts. Planes are very light and I should be able to move anything not attached to the motor.

My friend. Damn. I can’t dig a hole until I have some water so for tonight I just cover him with whatever I have.

Next. Gather what I can for a big signal fire. Close to the plane but not so close as to set it on fire. BIG pile of brush and dry pine branches with a big pile next to them. Lots of green ones to throw on the fire for a big plume of smoke. Find what I can to cover it in case of rain. Wait the first night out trying to remember what I can of the journey checking against the map. Check the lay of the land and try to orient myself to the nearest source of water. I would start by walking within sight of the wreckage in a circle. My friend has a couple days before he needs to be in a hole.

Next would be to make the wreckage as visible as possible. The wings most likely folded up so I would bash them off and lay them out. Tail also. If need be drag them to a close by clearing and lay them out. Then, drag the signal fire there and make that camp. Depending on what I could come up with for water, I would want to stay with the plane for at least a week. It is the only thing I have that could be visible for anyone flying over or searching for me. If I heard human activity in the distance I would mark it. If I thought it was within a days hike, I might go for it. Maybe even light the fire if the wind was going that way.

After a week I would have dug a hole for my buddy and decided on a direction to start off in. If I saw no activity in that first 7 days, no one is looking for me. Carry what I can with an important big piece of something to signal with. Skin of the wing would be good.

 

[Bacpacker]

Your buddy asks if you want to go up in his small private plane. He recently got his pilots license and is excited to keep racking up those flight hours. He or She takes you out well off the beaten path. In fact the area you are flying over is very remote and no where near civilization (based on the conditions and geography of where you live). Suddenly the airplane begins to have issues and you are definitely going down. Your friend does his /her best to land the aircraft but a crash is inevitable. He calls out mayday on the radio as the plane goes down. You survive the crash landing, sadly your friend does not. You are banged up and bruised, but intact with no broken bones or head trauma. There are very few survival items in the airplane, but there are a couple bottles of water, some small tools and a couple flares. You also find a bag of peanuts and a map. Plus of course you have the materials present in the aircraft itself. You are many miles away from people. You do not know if your friend filed a flight plan or told anyone where he was going. The radio equipment in the aircraft is non-functional. You do not know if anyone heard his mayday calls.
What did you bring with you on the flight?
Are you armed or unarmed?
What is your first move?
Do you stay with the airplane or head out?
What resources do you need immediately?
What do you do with your friend?
What next?

First thing get clear of the plane and make sure it's not burning.
Next search the plane for anything useable, wire for cordage, anything useable for a makeshift shelter, etc. Gather all that, plus the water, tools, flares map and such. I would also have a knife, small compass, 9mm Sig, lighter or fire kit, more water, minimal food in a daypack. Camera, cell phone(neither of which is likely gonna be any use).
Stay near the plane for the first night for sure, maybe for longer depending on conditions and how far out we were when we went down. Knowing the approximate air speed and direction of travel would give a fair idea of where you were. Get the maps out and try to make a educated guess about that. Scout around the area looking for water, good area for shelter, firewood, some type of trail, maybe a good hill top to get on to survey the area.
Water, shelter, firewood. Maybe shelter first depending on weather conditions and how much water I had to start with.
Search the friend for anything useable. Cover them as best I could and leave them in the plane to keep critters away. In this situation, no way you can afford to expend the calories to bury them.
Make a longer range plan based on where I am, how far to get somewhere, weather now and forecasted. Be ready to signal any aircraft flying near the area. I've got a fire burning, and 2 flares. Shouldn't be that hard to get someone to notice.

 

[dademoss]

I'm with Terri, Congrats and a nice dinner

 

[Terri9630]

I'm with Terri, Congrats and a nice dinner

Yep. I hate flying.

 

[SheepDog]

Sentry18 asked
What did you bring with you on the flight?
I have fire starter, a 357 magnum with two speed loaders, sunglasses, hat, coat, my day pack with 3 days of food, a canteen full of water and a roll up water flask (2 gallon). In the day pack is a light sleeping bag, two pair of socks, a wool sweater and a balaclava. A small trenching tool and toilet paper. I probably left my gloves in the car.
Are you armed or unarmed?
Yes, don't leave home without it.
What is your first move?
Check the plane to see if it presents a danger. Set up a quick shelter and a fire.
Do you stay with the airplane or head out?
If it is safe to stay with the plane that's where I'll be. Rescue parties will be looking for it.
What resources do you need immediately?
Water and shelter first then food. Depending on climate, elevation and terrain I will use what is available and make the plane as visible as possible.
What do you do with your friend?
This depends on what condition the body is in, the temperature, and the surrounding cover. If it is warm the body will have to be covered and contained. If it is cold I will let it freeze. Anything that can be used for my survival will be put to use after removal from the body.
What next?
Access any fuel in the plane and any insulation, the first aid kit and any tools, I will remove the battery and the generator/alternator from the plane to charge it. I will remove the landing lights and wiring for night time beacon and a way to send a message. Then I set traps and fortify my shelter to wait for the search parties.

 

[The Lazy L]

Sentry18 asked
What did you bring with you on the flight?
I have fire starter, a 357 magnum with two speed loaders, sunglasses, hat, coat, my day pack with 3 days of food, a canteen full of water and a roll up water flask (2 gallon). In the day pack is a light sleeping bag, two pair of socks, a wool sweater and a balaclava. A small trenching tool and toilet paper. I probably left my gloves in the car.
...

If that was my normal routine everyday carry I'd have to wear two pairs of suspenders.

 

[ssonb]

Right after the impact the pilot will not survive the "crash".

 

[SheepDog]

If that was my normal routine everyday carry I'd have to wear two pairs of suspenders.

I always wear my hat - my clip-on sunglasses are on the brim. I always carry my 357 in a shoulder rig not on a belt. I have a lighter in my shirt pocket and two extra in my coat pocket. I always take my coat.
I take the day pack anytime I will be more than 15 miles from home. It has all that stuff either inside the pack or hanging on the outside. I just grab it and go. My gloves are always in the car. My speed loaders are in the car but when I head out to go more than 15 miles they are put on my belt. In my pockets are wallet, keys for the out buildings, watch, knife, car and house keys.
The only extra weight would be the day pack.

 

[Caribou]

If that was my normal routine everyday carry I'd have to wear two pairs of suspenders.

My standard carry for a flight on a small plane is different than my EDC. When I started flying medivac I noticed that my pilot was dressed for a crash. His zippers were open on his coveralls but those could be closed without getting out of his seat. On my next flight I had insulated coveralls. I had a small survival belt pouch for hunting that I decided would be a good thing to carry on my flights. These were flights over roadless wilderness where you might not see so much as a light for over an hour at a time.

 

[Sentry18]

My father in law is a pilot who owns a few airplanes of varying sizes and his son's are pilots as well, so we actually go out flying with some regularity. The planes they fly pretty much all have built in parachutes, not for the occupants but for the airplane itself. I only know this because every time we go up they show me how to active the chute if needed. They also keep what they call an "emergency kit" in each aircraft which is essentially an aviation bug out bag. It has first aid, food, water, fire starters, flare gun, flashlight, emergency blankets, GPS, satellite phone, etc., etc. Again, they show it to me each every time we go out. Pilots are methodical about such things.

 

[OBG 57]

I just stay on the ground life is exciting enough down here for me

 

[fteter]

What did you bring with you on the flight? - clothes I'm wearing, wallet, keys, phone, CC firearm, extra mag for said firearm.
Are you armed or unarmed? - armed. Either a CZ-82 in 9x18 or a Bersa Thunder Combat in .380.
What is your first move? - the basics: food, water and shelter. Also check the plane wreckage for anything useful, like a first aid kit and a flare gun.
Do you stay with the airplane or head out? - depends on how I do covering the basics, especially food and water. Lack of adequate water may compel me to move out.
What resources do you need immediately? - after the basics, probably a heft stick to double as a walking stick and a weapon to defend against wildlife. Then rocks: write out "SOS" and, if I'm leaving, an arrow pointing the direction I'm traveling.
What do you do with your friend? - a rock cairn.
What next? - check the map and attempt to determine my location. Very important should I need to head out.